
Tourism Kamloops CEO, Monica Dickinson. (Photo via Tourism Kamloops)
The tourism industry is still rebounding from the pandemic and there’s optimism 2023 will see more growth.
Tourism Kamloops CEO Monica Dickenson, was on the NL Morning News and said the industry typically goes through peaks and valleys according to the calendar.
She says the up coming Scotties curling tournament and the Memorial Cup should help those slower times of year. “Events like that are so important to our community and most importantly they make big impacts in what we call our off-season.”
“So, off-season for us now is pretty much November through April and so when we have major national or international events happening at that time we see our valleys turn into peaks very quickly when it comes to occupancy rates and revenue.”
She does admit, when looking at a 12 month period, those increases can be marginal in comparison. “You know, we even reflect back to this last summer and having the Canada 55-Plus Games in August. While that was great as part of that recovery, that’s what’s sustainable in peak season is having that big of an event happening when there’s also precious leisure travel happening naturally in that time and we’re welcoming Rocky Mountaineer to the community from May to October.”
“So, it’s really about a collective effort, all of us working together, the City, Tourism Kamloops, the Sports Council, sports organizers, the hotel industry, to find those sweet spots that we can actually level those peaks and valleys and have a sustainable year round industry, tourism economy.”